Accusation FourFreemasonry has its own, Hidden Gods

The Great Architect of the Universe

Freemasons argue vehemently that whatever the Craft may be, it is not a religion. Most Masonic gatherings I have been to, and since I regularly lecture to Lodges there have been many, have started and ended with prayers - so religion definitely exists at one level or another. Indeed, it is not possible to become a Freemason without confirming a belief in a higher power of some sort - which is known to Freemasons as the Great or Grand Architect of the Universe. Masonic ritual makes no attempt to identify the Great Architect or to associate it with any deity from any religion in the world.

The reason for this is very important. Freemasonry is open to anyone, no matter what their race, colour or religious creed. Technically speaking the only sort of individual excluded from a Freemasonic lodge would be a true athiest. At first sight there is nothing within Freemasonic practice, ceremony or symbolism to indicate a religious adherence beyond this first, simple admission of belief, but when one looks deeper, there is evidence everywhere that things are not nearly so simple- even if the average Freemason remains ignorant of the facts.

Autumn Equinox

It became quite obvious to me fairly early into my research into Freemasonry that the Craft has a definite preference for a particular time of year. So many new Masonic Halls and Temples have been opened at this time of year, but that is hardly as important as the date of the ratification of the US Constintution or the laying of the cornerstone of the Capitol in Washington DC which both took place at this pivotal part of the year. And make no bones about it, both the Constitution of the United States and the Capitol were heavily influenced by Freemasonry. The time in question is the week around September 21st - the day of the Autumn equinox, that time in the autumn when the day and night are of equal length. In terms of religions - especially ancient ones, this was a potent and extremely important time because it coincided with the harvest. This was clearly born in mind because some of the most important religious festivals from ancient history took place at this time. The most significant was one that happened every year for over 1,000 years. It was held in a small settlement called Eleusis, near Athens in Greece and the ceremony was dedicated to an ancient goddess. It was called 'the Mysteries of Demeter'.

Demeter and the Corn God

Harvest time was the most important period of the year for the world's earliest farmers. If they got things wrong, or if nature turned against them, there would be little or no grain, either to make bread or to feed livestock. To most cultures the harvest was ruled not by a god but a goddess. To the Greeks she was known as Demeter. Like all the great goddesses who protected humanity and who looked after nature, Demeter had a male counterpart. These male consorts of fertility goddesses have fallen under the general name of 'corn gods' because like the corn itself they had to die each year, to be reborn later. In many belief systems the Goddess was eternal. She was made pregnant by the old corn god, but he died each harvest time. The Goddess would then give birth to the young corn god, who would grow during the year like the corn and eventually become the old corn god, so that the cycle could begin again. It was this cycle of nature that was celebrated each year at Eleusis, Greece. The rites themselves were called 'mysteries' and that is exactly what they were. They were so secret that even though hundreds of thousands of people took part across centuries, we still don't know exactly what took place at Eleusis.

Virgo - Goddess of the Harvest

There were many goddesses in ancient times who had dying and reborn consorts. They were a regular part of religion and especially the 'mystery religions', such as that of Demeter and also Isis in Egypt. In an astronomical sense the part of the year generally held as sacred to these goddesses was said to be ruled by Virgo. Virgo is the name of a constellation of stars that is part of the zodiac and is also the name of a Goddess. The Sun passes through Virgo each year during September and it was commonly held that the Masculine nature of the Sun, entering the Feminine constellation of Virgo represented the union of God and Goddess that took place at harvest time. The reasoning was that before the Old God died when the corn was cut, he coupled with the Goddess to ensure that the following year's harvest would germinate and grow in the spring.